Tag Archive: buttercream

We went back to the same beach for the little man’s third birthday as for his first. I had far less lofty aspirations than his Vintage Surf Shack baby luau a couple years ago, but it’s my kid! There’s got to be a little fuss. Having learned from that party that all the cute pinteresty decor ideas are no match for sea breezes or trade winds, I knew his party decor this time around had to be flightless birds. Which meant real pineapples! Those beasts weren’t going anywhere off the tables until we directed guests to take them. I didn’t want to do a full tiered cake, but I definitely knew pineapple-shaped cupcakes were the thing. A pair of cupcakes, a star tip, and a leafy pick? Done.

Pineapple sugar cookies as favors. I could have done palm trees, as well, but I am just too enamored of pineapples right now.

I loved making gumpaste plumeria for a birthday cake earlier this year, so when I was called upon to make a friend’s birthday cake – who loves plumeria – my inspiration was obvious. One of her favorite colors is purple, so I went with a lavender buttercream with white trim. Classic frangipani colors of white with a yellow interior. Perfectly tropical!

A rare buttercream cake – I usually prefer the clean lines of fondant, especially in tropical humidity. But, buttercream was requested – plus, it’s been pretty cool and dry lately, so that eased my mind!

Gumpaste plumeria flowers dusted with Cosmos-pink matte dust. It’s hard to tell from the photographs, but the base buttercream is a slightly more vibrant green than the paler swirls. I was really quite pleased with how the flowers turned out – and I can’t believe it has taken me this long to make them for the first time. They’re my favorites, and I foresee many future uses of plumeria on my cakes. 🙂

Boxed and ready to go. I added an extra blossom after the first round of photos. 🙂

A friend commissioned me to make cake for her husband’s birthday again this year. It was a dinner at a sushi restaurant in Waikiki, so she asked if I could do some kind of sushi cake. I quickly realized individual cupcake servings would be perfect. I started with some round cupcakes (baked without papers), and a few shallow rectangular loaves, which I cut into bricks. The round ones became maki, with an exterior of black fondant nori, and a variety of candy centers, including some li hing sour apples. When I was looking for inspiration, I thought I would make some sashimi out of fondant to top a block of coconut “rice”. I saw a similar cake using Swedish Fish on top, and I couldn’t help but giggle, so I made a few pieces with them. The salmon roe are tapioca pearls colored red-orange. I finished off the tray with some gumpaste ginger and buttercream wasabi.

The bride requested an all-buttercream cake – which I don’t typically do in the tropics. Since it was a small December wedding, I agreed to it. Topped it with white chocolate shavings and orange gerbera daisies. Offset square layers.

After making their wedding cake, Kristi & Max had me make their anniversary cakes every year until I moved. This one features toasted-coconut cake, pineapple filling, vanilla buttercream, and toasted coconut decoration. And a heart swooped into the frosting.